A Boston police officer is facing a manslaughter charge linked to the fatal shooting of a carjacking suspect last week.
Nicholas O’Malley, 33, of Boston, was taken into custody Thursday morning. He is set to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court for the March 11 shooting death of Stephenson King, 39, of Dorchester, according to an email from a spokesperson for Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
Court documents state that the manslaughter charge stems from “assaulting and beating Stephenson King when they knew or reasonably should have known that the battery endangered human life.” Police reports included in the filings also describe how O’Malley fired three shots at King, even though neither he nor his partner faced any immediate threat from the vehicle, and King was unarmed.
Police arrived at Linwood Square shortly before 10 p.m. last Wednesday following a carjacking on Tremont Street in Mission Hill.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said during a press conference that evening that officers approached the vehicle on foot and issued several verbal commands, but the suspect failed to comply.
“At some point, the suspect accelerated his vehicle, striking a Boston police cruiser in an attempt to flee. Officers discharged their weapons, hitting the suspect,” Cox said.
The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities later identified him as King.
A Boston police spokesperson said the suspect had attempted to strike the officers with the vehicle.
Hayden said at the time that officials brought the officers involved to a hospital for evaluation following the incident, though they were not believed to have been injured.
Police also said the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office was investigating the incident, in line with protocol.
Boston City Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell said in a statement Monday that they are closely monitoring the situation, stressing the need to fully understand what happened and ensure appropriate actions are taken.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the man who lost his life. We are deeply saddened by this incident. Anytime we see a young man die in our community, it is a cause for serious concern,” the councilors said in a joint statement. “We also want to make sure that Boston Police officers are able to do their jobs safely while maintaining the trust and safety of the community they serve.”
Culpepper and Worrell said they are calling for the release of body camera footage, arguing that it is essential for transparency and accountability.
“We are also hopeful that the Office of Police Accountability will work alongside this investigation to help ensure public trust as the facts come to light,” they added.
Court documents released Thursday provide new details about why O’Malley was charged. A police report dated March 19 shows investigators found probable cause to believe O’Malley committed voluntary manslaughter based on “physical evidence and numerous witness interviews,” specifically that he “1) committed an act intended or likely to cause death, 2) did cause Stephenson King’s death, and 3) was not acting in proper self-defense or defense of another.”
The report states that both officers who responded to the carjacking were wearing Body Worn Cameras.
“As captured on their BWC’s as well as partial witness statements, both officers, firearms drawn, began to yell commands to King such as: show me your hands, shut off the vehicle and unlock the vehicle. King did show the officers his hands at times, did partially open his driver’s window, but did not shut off the vehicle or unlock the doors,” the report said.
The report states that O’Malley, positioned outside the driver’s window and while holstering his gun in favor of a Taser, then shouted to King: “Bro, I’m gonna (expletive) shoot you.” King immediately put the car in reverse and backed into the cruiser behind him.
King then moved his vehicle forward, reversed, and drove forward again in an attempt to flee. At the moment the vehicle began moving forward the final time, the report states O’Malley drew his gun again and fired three shots at King through the driver’s window.
An autopsy conducted on March 13 found that King was struck by three projectiles, two of which were recovered from his torso. Investigators located a third projectile in the passenger area of the carjacking victim’s vehicle. No weapons were found in the vehicle or on King’s body.
The report states that after firing his weapon, O’Malley radioed that officers had discharged their weapons and that the suspect “tried to run us over.” Based on body camera footage and officer interviews, investigators determined that statement was not “factually true.”
During an interview with investigators, O’Malley said he fired his weapon because he believed the other officer was about to be crushed by the suspect’s vehicle. However, the report states that body camera footage “revealed that such a belief was unreasonable, and that neither officer was in danger of being struck by the vehicle at the time of Officer O’Malley’s discharge.” An eyewitness also said neither officer was in the vehicle’s path as it drove away.
The report notes that while the law permits officers to use deadly force when reasonably necessary, it also states that police “shall not discharge any firearm into or at a fleeing motor vehicle unless, based on the totality of the circumstances, such discharge is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person and the discharge is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm to a person.”